Gold Futures continue their rise to another record! With the ratings cut by Moody's Spanish banks and an offer by Portugal's Prime Minister to resign, individuals are heading to gold as uncertainty and unrest grows.

Gold futures jumped to a record of $1,448.60 an ounce as turmoil in Libya, Japan and Europe spurred demand for the precious metal as an alternative investment.

U.S. and allied warplanes carried out further strikes against Muammar Qaddafi’s ground forces and hit an air base deep inside the country. Moody’s Investors Service cut the ratings of 30 Spanish banks, and Portugal’s prime minister offered to resign amid a debt crisis. Japanese equities fell as the world’s third-largest economy recovers from an earthquake.

“Geopolitical risk remains very high,” said Matthew Zeman, a market strategist at Kingsview Financial in Chicago. “You need to be owning gold as Middle East unrest is spreading. There’s renewed debt concerns in the euro zone and continued uncertainty in Japan.”

Gold futures for April delivery rose $8.40, or 0.6 percent, to $1,446.40 at 11 a.m. on the Comex in New York. The previous all-time high was $1,445.70 on March 7.

Gold for immediately delivery climbed to a record of $1,447.82.

To contact the reporter on this story: Pham-Duy Nguyen in Seattle at pnguyen@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net